Hide the noisy NAS

One option to consider is one of the new 960GB SSD drives as they produce a lot less heat and noise than the equivalent HDD so you'll probably find the fan doesn't come on at all. They have come down to around 400 GBP so for folks who can afford Naim Hi-Fi they are as cheap as chips.

David, you can put it anywhere in the home that you can run an ethernet cable to.  I have a 3 story high townhome, and the nas and all of the computer network "stuff" is on a rack up in the loft on the top floor, while the hi fi is in the living room on the first floor.  Fortunately, there was some ethernet cable in the walls when I bought the home, and the local hi fi shop techs were able to run a little more and install an outlet right next to the hi fi rack. 

The Synology 212 nas doesn't seem to need much air - it runs pretty cool.  And the little noise it makes doesn't bother me in the loft -- other noises come from the uServe and the Time Capsule also on the same rack.  I just turn up the TV or the Qute

As above, you can place it anywhere that you can run a cable to. I've got a 410 which is practically silent so its siteing is not an issue. But I could put it anywhere in the house that would accomodate it.

Cheers guys...But won't the loft be too cold? Especially with 12" of insulation, the temperature is probably going to be freezing point at this time of year.

Synology posts the recommended operating temp range:

5°C to 35°C (40°F to 95°F)

I have two servers sat in the garage. They are in a metal cupboard, my thoughts being that as long as they are running they should be fine.

The cooler the better but not freezing, obviously. Lofts can get very hot in a hot summer so maybe not the best placement.

I'm just about to move my NAS to the bedroom and will schedule it to turn on and off every day. This will remove the fan noise problem but will probably shorten the life of the HDD.

I expect it will but HDDs are unpredictable little buggers. There's no way of telling for sure. I think it also more likely that the NAS box will fail sooner if put through daily power cycles. Most of my significant PC, NAS and other electrical equipment failures have occurred on power up. But it's still a lottery. External back up essential.

My NAS has survived almost 4 years in my attic. The temperature does sometimes drop to nearly zero. The NAS is set to go to sleep at night.    

Good point Harry

The temperature in the loft during the summer months can be over 40c, depending on where the sun is, and then well bellow Zero in a harsh winter.

Michael: Are you in the UK ? I live in Lincs, and this last couple of years has seen temperatures as low as -10c. This could bring a whole new meaning to one of my stored albums, "Hell Freezes Over"

David

Yes, I live in Kent. I have a thermostat set close to zero in the attic to protect cold water tank.

Hi Jason

My house is a small detached one. The roof is simply tiles over a felt cover, with no insulation. The 12" insulation is on the loft floor to prevent heat loss from the rooms bellow.

I have a new idea to put the NAS under the stairs which is a small cupboard. At the moment it contains all my CDs which are now redundant, won't bin them though.

Nearly finished the dedicated mains supply, and decided to used 6mm. It was a pain in the butt to feed it through the house, because of it's thickness. How on earth some people have used 10mm, I just don't know, as the terminals on the MK socket just about accept two 6mm cables. I have installed 2 x MK twin unswitched sockets. The big switch on should be Mon/Tues. I just hope I can hear some difference, after pulling my house to pieces! 

Thanks everyone for the advice.